I was going to shoot my new gun.....

[dogmush]

.....This weekend.

Until I launched the mag catch spring in to the unknown while doing a deep clean.

Frak.

A new to me P228 on my workbench, 1000 rounds of 9mm, and no shooting of it.

[230RN]

I've been known to put unfamiliar mechanical devices inside a transparent plastic dry cleaner's bag before mooking about with them.

Paid off when a spring leaped out of something (an SKS?) and instead of bouncing off the wall and leaving a greasy mark before it disappeared, it was trapped.

I used to use one of those old-fashioned bulk tape erasers to sweep around the floor to find lost little parts.

[T.O.M.]

My SIG P232 sits in my safe because, after 50 rounds and only 50 rounds, I went to clean it and shot the slide stop spring out an open window over my workbench.   Must be something wrong with SIG designs.  

[Perd Hapley]

Wouldn't you want to shoot a gun a few times before you detail strip it?

And as a 1911 devotee, the notion of a slide stop spring perplexes me. That's what mag springs are for.

[RoadKingLarry]

I always at least field strip and clean a gun before the first range trip.

Many years ago in another life in the very wee hours of a Sunday morning on particularly long 3 day weekend I was standing an armed security guard watch in the torpedo room of a not to be named nuclear powered submarine. The "special" reason for posting armed security guards in the torpedo room had been temporarily removed from the boat. We were being required to maintain the post "because".
Being duty section leader I had taken the last watch. About 3 hours into my 5 hour watch I got bored and started stripping and reassembling my WWII vintage 1911a1. About the 9th or 10th go around I managed to launch the spring plug into the port bilge under the torpedo tubes. 
Luckily the oncoming duty torpedoman was a good friend and the small arms custodian.

[Perd Hapley]

Yes. Field strip. A detail strip I would save until I know the gun's working correctly. But if he bought used, maybe he already verified that.

They say a fired case can be used a spring plug. Just fire a round and you're good. 

[230RN]

Wouldn't you want to shoot a gun a few times before you detail strip it?

And as a 1911 devotee, the notion of a slide stop spring perplexes me. That's what mag springs are for.

I think he means the little spring in that little tube in the left side of the gun above the grip which holds the little detent pin against the slide stop.  It simultaneously holds the safety detent plunger out against the safety.  It's not easy to lose, but it can be done.*

This image is sorta backwards, because the slide stop plunger (with the little step on it) is on the right, the safety detent plunger is on the left, which is backwards from the way they sit in the gun when looking at it from the left side:

http://www.gunsupplies.co.nz/media/catalog/product/cache/1/image/540x405/9df78eab33525d08d6e5fb8d27136e95/g/b/gbc-1911-slide-stop-plunger-set.jpg

Terry, 230RN

* It's far easier to lose the firing pin and sometimes the firing pin spring if  the firing pin retention block is suddenly pulled out of the back of the slide.  SPROING! Be warned. If it doesn't fly out into space, it will fly into your eye if you're looking down at it when you pull the retention block off the slide.

NOTE:  My nomenclature may not be technically 100% correct, since I can't find my 1911 manual right now.

ETA: I went the extra mile 'cause I love you brahs and wahines and dug up this diagram.  The parts I referred to are 1c, 1e, and 1d.  The firing pin stop (I called it the block) is part 1j.

http://www.springfield-armory.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/1911Manual.pdf

The exploded diagram and parts list appear on pp. 49 and 50 of the pdf.

[RoadKingLarry]

Actually a fired case will work as a plug on a 1911. I tried it once to see.

[230RN]

Actually a fired case will work as a plug on a 1911. I tried it once to see.

The grip screw slots are also curved internally so that a cartridge case rim can be used as a screwdriver to remove the grips.  At least with the original mil specs.  Most modern designs eliminate this.  You can see the radius designation on this original factory blueprint page attached.

The machine can be reduced to every single part without external tools except the sights, the ejector and the grip screw studs, which are staked or dovetailed in, and sometimes the slide stop plunger tube.  However, it is also not recommended to remove the hammer strut plunger and mainspring in the field without careful thought as to how you're going to get them back into the mainspring housing without a jig because that mainspring is mofoing strong.  

Son2 did that for me when I switched to an arched mainspring housing, and he had no problem.  But he's smarter than me anyhow.

[Devonai]

Been there done that. M1 Rifle extractor spring. I had to fish it out of the floorboards with a magnet.

[dogmush]

Wouldn't you want to shoot a gun a few times before you detail strip it?

And as a 1911 devotee, the notion of a slide stop spring perplexes me. That's what mag springs are for.

The gun is only new "to me".  It's an Israeli surplus gun from AIM.  I've gotten some good deals from AIM, but the used guns are USED.  I find a detailed inspection and replacement spring pack before the first outing to be indicated. 

That's what I was doing, cleaning out a bunch of Gaza Strip sand and putting a Sig Parts kit in (the pins that hold the breech block in were broken, so good thing I did)  I was actually on the reassembly process and getting over confident.  I have a modded screwdriver that I use for putting tiny springs back and was just to lazy to get it.  SPROING!  I will say that the mag catch design on a SIG is a little annoying to remove or install.  two tiny springs and a plate that isn't retained until later in the assembly process.


The slide stop spring is to keep the slide stop down.  You are correct that raising it is what the mag spring is for.  1911's also have a slide stop spring, as Terry noted it's the plunger spring, and I've seen folks launch them.

[RocketMan]

Been there done that. M1 Rifle extractor spring. I had to fish it out of the floorboards with a magnet.

I didn't even know mine had gone sproing onto the floor when I stripped mine once.  Found it by accident when I was sweeping up some stuff with a foxtail broom and dustpan.

[T.O.M.]

My nightmare with the slide stop spring on the P232 is that it is an internal slide stop activated by the mag follower.  The spring holds the lever flush with the frame rails until the follower pushes it out, catching the slide.  No spring and the slide stop activated at will.  And, it sticks out so that wiping it down with an oily rag was enough to catch the thing and launch it out into my backyard.  Seems like every time I go to order a replacement, it's out of stock.  Midway, Brownells, directly from SIG (unless I order the full kit, which I might).  Think I'm going to order a few, just in case.

[Perd Hapley]

The slide stop spring is to keep the slide stop down.  You are correct that raising it is what the mag spring is for.  1911's also have a slide stop spring, as Terry noted it's the plunger spring, and I've seen folks launch them.

It's not a slide stop spring. It's called the plunger spring, because it serves two functions. 

[230RN]

I didn't even know mine had gone sproing onto the floor when I stripped mine once.  Found it by accident when I was sweeping up some stuff with a foxtail broom and dustpan.

That's always a sphincter-shrinker.  I'm still wondering that that pin is from that I found under something I moved to vacuum under.  Hope it's not from something that's supposed to hold high pressure, but so far, every gun I've checked is OK.

Still, sucking up something like that with the vacuum sure can screw up the impeller.